Leftover Chicken For Dinner

I had 4 pieces of barbecued bone in chicken from a dinner earlier in the week that I wanted to use up today.  When my Grandmother moved back down South, she gave me a bunch of awesome cookbooks with my favorite kinds of recipes.  I was looking through one of them tonight from Taste of Home called Easily Family Casseroles and I came across this recipe for a Chicken Potato Casserole.  I LOVE casseroles because they allow me to use a smaller amount of meat for our meals, so we save money.  Our chicken had BBQ sauce slathered on it so I wasn't sure if the flavor would be transferred to the chicken casserole, but I gave it a try anyways.  I actually just gave the chicken a rinse under the faucet to get the sauce off it it before I pulled it off the bone.  The recipe was so yummy and it made enough for 2 meals, so I was able to stick one in the freezer for another day. Here is how you make it.

Chicken Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

• 6 large baking potatoes
• 2 pounds chicken breasts, cooked, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 2 cups sour cream (16 oz)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 envelope onion soup mix ( I omitted this and just sprinkled in a tablespoon of dried minced onion)
• 1/4 cup finely chopped spinach (the recipe called for fresh, but all I had was frozen and it came out just fine)
• 1/4 cup shredded carrot
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs

Directions:

• Peel potatoes, boil until tender, and drain.  Meanwhile divide chicken between two greased 8 in square pans.  (I used 2 pie pans)  In a large mixing bowl, add potatoes, sour cream, cheddar cheese, butter, Parmesan cheese, soup mix (or dried minced onion), spinach, carrot, salt, garlic powder, and pepper; mash until smooth.  Spoon over chicken; sprinkle with bread crumbs.
• Bake one casserole uncovered, at 350 degrees, for 35 - 45 minutes or until potatoes are browned on top.  Cover and freeze the other casserole for up to 3 months.
• To use frozen casserole:  Thaw in the refrigerator overnight.  Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking.  Bake as directed.